TELECOMS TAKE-OFF Virgin Media saw revenues rise at the start of the year after a period of record customer growth, as its owner considers a bid for mobile network O2.

The firm brought in £1.1billion in the three months to March 31, a rise of 3.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Its customer numbers rose to 5.2million after adding 55,000 subscribers in the first quarter.

Owner Liberty Global said it would consider stepping in if O2’s proposed merger with Three is rejected by regulators in Brussels.

RESEARCH REVENUE Clinical research group Venn Life Sciences has seen revenues rise 135 per cent to £9million in the 12 months to December 31.

It made a loss of £158,000 for the year, compared to a £1.4million loss in 2014, after acquiring rival firm Kinesis which allowed the company to broaden the services it offers.

After a rise last week, Venn shares yesterday fell 6.3 per cent, or 1.75p, to 26.25p.

VIDEO WARS AFTER taking on booksellers and muscling in on supermarkets and Netflix, Amazon now has YouTube in its sights.

The online retailer has launched Amazon Video Direct which lets users post their own footage. Filmmakers will be able to make money by charging viewers to rent or buy their videos or through advertising.